US: Off-duty pilot attempts shutting down engines of an in-flight passenger plane in the US, held

An off-duty pilot is accused of attempting to crash a passenger jet on Sunday night, leading to the filing of 83 counts of attempted murder against him. According to an airline statement, the suspect was seated behind the captain and the first officer in the cockpit of an Alaska Airlines aircraft. Joseph David Emerson, 44, was identified as the suspect in a police booking form. There were eighty people on the flight, which was traveling from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco, California. Officials added that once the flight was rerouted to Portland, Oregon, the suspect was apprehended without any problems. Alaska Airlines claimed in a statement that the off-duty pilot “unsuccessfully attempted to disrupt the operation of the engines” as he was traveling in the flight deck jump seat. Alaska Airlines Flight 2059’s crew members notified air traffic control of the situation. One pilot was captured on tape saying, “We’ve got the guy that tried to shut the engines down out of the cockpit, and he doesn’t sound like he’s causing any issue in the back right now.” The exchange was captured during an air traffic control contact. The pilot said, “I think he’s subdued.” “As soon as we get on the ground and parked,” he asked for the presence of the cops. The Horizon Air flight was supposed to depart at 17:25 local time and land in San Francisco at 19:30. A traveler was quoted in a media report that the incident was not known to other passengers and that the matter was handled correctly. Alaska Airlines said in a statement that every customer on board was able to continue their journey on a later flight. “We are grateful for the professional handling of the situation by the Horizon flight crew and appreciate our guests’ calm and patience throughout this event,” the company stated. The FBI and the Port of Portland Police Department are currently looking into the event, according to Alaska Airlines. The FBI “can assure the traveling public there is no continuing threat related to this incident” in a statement, confirming that it was looking into the incident. Emerson is charged with 83 counts of reckless endangerment and one count of endangering an aircraft in addition to the attempted murder accusation. While the inquiry is ongoing, he is being held at the Multnomah County Detention Center. Authorities stated that they did not know when he will be charged. US aviation carriers received advise from the Federal Aviation Administration on Monday stating that the incident was “not connected in any way shape or form to current world events”.